“The opening reception of “Pòtoprens: The Urban Artists of Port-au-Prince,” a large-scale exhibition of work by more than 25 artists working in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, occupies three stories of Pioneer Works in Red Hook, Brooklyn. On the ground floor, past the wall of sequin-covered masks and the elaborately beaded, feminist-minded flags that depict men on horses and women with their skirts pulled up, there are sculptures. Some are heads carved from limestone found in the Rivière Froide while others are built with discarded tires, donated heels, baby doll heads, human skulls. In the garden just beyond the mystical structures that mingle with showgoers sits a small barbershop.”

“Among aficionados of craft spirits, the obsessive quest for the “authentic,” “pure” and “rustic” intensifies with each passing year. Not too long ago, rhum agricole from Martinique or Guadeloupe — a rum distilled from the juice of fresh-cut sugar cane, following strict rules enforced by an “appellation d’origine contrôlée” in France — might have satisfied those nebulous ideals. […] But over the past several months, an unaged rum from Haiti called clairin, also made from fresh-pressed sugar cane juice, began popping up on cocktail menus…”

The words “Petro Caribe” have been trending on Haiti Twitter for the last few weeks, and maybe you don’t know what any of it means. For those of you who are from Haiti or who love Haiti, but don’t know what exactly is going on, we wanted to break it down for you to clear up the confusion. We’ve gathered some videos, articles, and links that can explain why people are asking, “Where is the PetroCaribe money??”

“This fall, the Library of Congress will present a series of four gallery talks in the exhibit “Exploring the Early Americas.” The talks will focus on the everyday lives of the indigenous people of the ancient Americas and the newly developing connection between archaeology and neuroscience.

Starting in September, lectures will be held monthly through December on Wednesdays from noon to 1 p.m. in the gallery of the exhibition on the second floor of the Library’s Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. S.E. The talks are free and open to the public. The series will be presented by John Hessler, curator of the Jay I. Kislak Collection of Archaeology of the Early Americas.”